


men are kind (until they aren't)

by something_soft_and_soaked_in_pain



Series: reserve the right to love [4]
Category: Hamilton-Miranda
Genre: Alex is dumb, Cheating, F/M, maria has never done anything wrong in her life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-28 03:12:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10822548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/something_soft_and_soaked_in_pain/pseuds/something_soft_and_soaked_in_pain
Summary: alex does something stupid





	men are kind (until they aren't)

**Author's Note:**

> a tiny bit of a time jump from the last fic

Alex hasn't slept or really been home in a solid two and a half days.  
Eliza's been busy with Philip, he's been more finicky than usual lately, and John and Alex have been getting home too late to be any help. John's in and out the house at all hours, his job keeping him constantly on call. Alex himself has been flooded with cases, not getting home till after midnight most days.  
The days blend together, filled with an endless stream of case files and too much coffee.  
He's _exhausted_.  
His days get slightly less fuzzy at the edges when he notices her.  
Her bright red lipstick stands out from the bleakness of the office. Distracts him. Makes him wonder about her.  
He's on his nth cup of coffee, when the mystery woman speaks to him.

  
"You need sleep." She says.

  
"What?" Alex asks, snapping out of his haze.

  
"You're on your 6th cup of coffee in an hour, I'm surprised your heart hasn't burst yet." The woman says gesturing to his now full mug.

  
"Oh. Must be luck." He says, sipping from the mug. He makes a mental note to switch to water.

  
"It must." She pours cream in her coffee slowly, lingers.

  
"I haven't seen you around here before." Alex says.

  
"Just started." She says.

  
"Alex Hamilton. What made you want to be a social worker?" He asks, stretches his hand out to shake hers.

  
"Maria Lewis. My home environment was not the best and I don't want a kid to have to go through what I did." She says, her nails are painted red, complimenting her warm skin tone.

  
"That's admirable, it's nice to meet you." He says.

  
"Married?" Maria asks, noting Alex's rings.

  
"Two years, this spring." He regards his rings, Eliza designed one and John had designed the other. Eliza's ring was a simple silver band, the date they met engraved on the inside. John's was made of onyx, an small emerald in the center.

  
"I'm recently divorced myself. What's the other ring for?" She asks.

  
"My other partner. I have a partner I'm married to and one I'm not, so the second ring is more symbolic than anything." He says.

  
"Oh. Any kids?" She asks.

  
"Philip, he's two. You?" He asks, swishes his coffee inside his cup.

  
"Susan, she's three." Maria says.

  
"It's been nice meeting you, Hamilton. Back to the grind." She says, and waves goodbye to him.

* * *

  
His mind drifts back to Maria often, they've been talking more and more over the last few months. She offers up little snippets of her life, about her daughter, about her ex-husband James. Alex rambles at her, talks about Philip and John and Eliza, tells her everything. It's nice to have someone to talk to that's not one of his partners. It's not that he loves his partners or Philip any less, it's just that he's _bored_. Maria is the farthest thing from boring and he's smitten.  
She comes to him for most things, advice, a particularly difficult case file, anything. It's not any different when she comes up to him late than night.

  
"Working late again, Hamilton?" Maria asks. She's leaning above his cubicle, fiddling with her cup.

  
"Yeah. I've got a few things to file and then I'll go." He says, not looking up at her.

  
They're the last ones in the office, it's well past working hours. Alex checks his phone and winces, he'd promised Eliza he'd be home hours ago. There's about ten angry texts from both them and John waiting for him.

  
"I need all the overtime I can get. Hence, the staying late." Maria says.

  
"Something going on with you?" Alex asks, noting her tone.

  
"James is suing me for full custody of Susan. I have no idea how to legally work it out so he never sees her again. Happy anniversary to me." Maria mutters, toasting her empty cup.

  
"I could help you out with the legal intricacies of it, if you'd like." Alex says.

  
"I couldn't ask something like of you. You need to get home." She says.

  
"I insist. I'm already going to be late, might as well make use of myself while I'm at it, right?" He says, shrugging his coat on. He really doesn't feel like going home right now.

  
"Let's go." Maria says.

  
They walk in silence to Maria's apartment, she pauses just inside the doorway, turns to face him.

  
"Thank you for doing this, Alexander. It means an indescribable amount." She says, deliberates for a moment and then pulls him inside.

  
"Do you want anything? Tea? Coffee?" She asks, taking his coat.

  
"I'm good for right now. Thank you, though." He says.

  
They pore over legal paperwork into the early hours of the morning, talking the entire time. Maria talks about James. She tells him about how they met as teens, and how she got pregnant with Susan soon after they were married. She tells him about after that too, how James was physically and emotionally abusive. Maria breaks down when she tells him how afraid she is of losing Susan to James. She's all Maria has. He leans over the short distance to take her in his arms. He can feel Maria's tears soaking into her shirtWhen she leans back from the hug to look at him, he kisses her. He knows that he shouldn't be doing this, knows that he has two partners and a baby at home for God's sake, but he doesn't care. She breaks away first, pushes him away.  
"You need to leave. You're married." She says, moving away from him. Alex can taste her lipstick on his mouth, wipes it away with the back of his hand.

  
"I'm also polyamorous. My partners and I have an agreement. We're both stressed and could probably use a release right now. But, I'll leave if you want me to." He isn't sure why he's lying about his partners, blames it on his impulsivity. He knows it's not an excuse. Maria presses her lips together, contemplates the situation.

  
"Fuck it." She says, brings their lips together again. She threads her hands through his hair, bites at his lip.  
She drags him to the bedroom, pushes him on the bed.  
His phone rings. She stops.

  
"Ignore it." He says, pulls her back down.

  
"You're okay with this?" She asks.

  
"Yeah. Don't worry about it." He says.

* * *

  
Alex wakes up with Maria's hair in his mouth. She's sprawled out against his chest, the early morning light turning her skin golden. He pushes Maria off of him gently, gets up to retrieve his things. He slips out the bedroom door as he checks his phone. Dead. Most likely full of messages from his partners. His head is pounding, he needs coffee like he needs his next breath.

  
"You alright?" Maria asks. She's leaning against the doorframe, bed sheet wrapped around her shoulders.

  
"Yeah, I just need to get home." He says, shrugs his shirt back on.

  
"I never knew. You know about the, you know." Her voice trails off as she makes a vague gesture toward Alexander's chest.

  
"You weren't supposed to." He spits, he's not awake enough for this conversation right now.

  
"No, I didn't mean it like that. I don't mind." She says, cups his cheek. He shrugs away from her touch and picks up his coat.

  
"Call me if you have a question about the paperwork." Alex says, and leaves.

  
He spends the subway ride home with his head in his hands.

What had he done?

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed it!!  
> comments fuel me to write faster  
> I'm on tumblr @balaga


End file.
